Many motor vehicles have a warning lightbulb on the dash board which lights up when a door is open or ajar. When the door is closed the light goes off. A switch is provided on a pillar of the vehicle body to control the operation of the lightbulb. A button-like operator on the door engages a switch plunger when the door is closed, opening the circuit to the lightbulb. When the door is open, the switch plunger is released and extended, closing the circuit to the lightbulb.
One problem in the manufacture of automotive vehicles is the proper setting of the switch. Typically, the switch will have a housing in which the switch plunger is slidably supported. A casing mounts the housing on a pillar in an adjusted position such that the plunger extends out exactly the right distance to open the circuit to the lightbulb only when the door is fully closed. In the past, a special tool has been provided to make the adjustment. The tool is mounted on the door in place of the switch operator. When the door is closed, the tool projects further from the door than the operator and will not only retract the switch plunger, but will press the switch housing into the pillar to an adjusted position. With the switch housing thus adjusted, the tool is replaced by the usual button-like operator which will operate the switch when the door is closed.
This method of setting the switch performs satisfactorily, but occasionally a worker will fail to use the tool, in which event the switch will not be set properly and no indication of this failure is readily visible.
The present invention dispenses with the need for a separate tool. Instead, a disc of a water-soluble material, preferably polyvinyl-alcohol, is applied to the head of the operator. The operator-disc combination serves the function of a tool to properly set the switch in adjusted position. Thereafter, the disc is sprayed or flushed with water which washes away the polyvinyl-alcohol disc. The disc thus "disappears" leaving only the operator which thereafter serves its usual function of operating the lightbulb switch.
One object of this invention is to provide a means for adjusting a door-ajar switch having the foregoing features and capabilities.
Another object is to provide a means for adjusting a door-ajar switch which is of simple construction, can be readily and inexpensively manufactured, and is easy to operate.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent as the following description proceeds, especially when considered with the accompanying drawings.